I love that thunk when my passport gets another stamp proving foreign travel. Now that badge of adventure is happening in Wisconsin when people travel to farms for food, fun, and education excitement.

In this Deep Roots Radio interview, Sheila Everhart, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Agricultural Tourism Association, invites us to use our smart phones to find and use Digital Passports that can help us plan on-farm fun, and become eligible for prizes as we visit the farms.

Enjoy the interview, and download your digital passport.

Sylvia Burgos Toftness

Twelve regenerative, small family farms are on the map for your self-guided tour of the Apple River Farm Tour, July 11, 2026, from 10AM to 4PM. Think mushrooms, sheep, lambs, furry Highland cattle, chickens, fresh veggies and fruit, and so much more.

This Deep Roots Radio chat with tour director Debbie Elmer gives the details. "Bring your coolers, cash and cameras," stresses Debbie. The website and social pages give full descriptions of the farms and maps that are easy to follow.

Capture the best of summer and make a point to put this tour on your calendar.

Enjoy the interview.

Sylvia Burgos Toftness

Sometimes you just can't predict when you'll bump into a thriving textile business. Black Cat Stitchery is one of those. Just 18 months in its new storefront, the small space is an expression of quality, creativity and warm welcome. While the store front boasts shelves of needlepoint and cross-stitch linens, original patterns, and must-have notions, the backroom is where owners Theresa Curry and Brian Stugelmayar transform neutral bolts of European linens into hand-dyed fabric for an international market.

Each yard is hand-dyed on the premises using environmentally-anchored processes.

Enjoy this Deep Roots Radio in-studio chat, and mark your calendars to visit this charming and highly sophisticated shop.

Sylvia Burgos Toftness

Connecting the dots between what we wear and environmental impact creates a scary picture. According to the EPA, billions of pounds of textiles ends up in landfills every year. Why? One of the reasons may be our culture's habit of hoping from one fashion trend to another every few weeks. That's Fast Fashion.

Lots of people in the industry, and in your neighborhood, have taken note and are taking action in a movement called Slow Fashion. It encourages us to purchase better-made clothes, and learn to mend the jeans, blouses, and jackets we really like.

This Deep Roots Radio interview features Katrina Rodabaugh, author of Mending Matters, and of Make Thrift Mend. She teaches classes and offers a number of products. You can learn more from her website, www.katrinarodabaugh.com

Sylvia Burgos Toftness

The day's are bright, the air fresh - perfect time to visit a nearby farm and learn about how our food is grown, how livestock are raised, and taste delicious local food.

The 2026 farm visiting season kicks off with the May 9 River Road Farm Crawl in Osceola, Wisconsin. Visit their Facebook page for details -@River Road Community Collaborative - an interactive map, and descriptions of loads of family fun.

Enjoy this Deep Roots Radio chat with Sara Hasse, the organizer of the 6th Annual event.

Sylvia Burgos Toftness

When March hits, Wisconsin can be a roller-coaster of temperature and snow - nasty. Yet this is the time of year when new lambs decide to baaa their way into the world.

At Curlee Acres, a small sheep farm near Centuria (north central Wisconsin), sheep herder/yarn producer Andrea Seifert is hoping for black lambs this year. It's a matter of minding the genetics of her Shetland flock, and some luck, said Andrea.

In this Deep Roots Radio interview, Andrea describes what it takes to get from fleece to naturally colored skeins of yarn.

Check out her website for her yarn, fleeces, and knitting patterns. I hope you enjoy this interview.

Sylvia

When you think "maple syrup" what comes to mind? Vermont? Canada? Nah, think Wisconsin. Z-Orchard in Amery, WI was recently featured in a syrupy article in the New York Times, and the recognition is well deserved. Z-Orchard's syrup is pure and delicious.

In this Deep Roots Radio chat, Z-Orchard owner and beekeeper Bill Zager describes the steps involved in going from tree sap to maple syrup. Enjoy.

Sylvia

Many travel to France for the annual display of lavender: fields of purples ranging from dusky to intense. Luckily for us in the Upper Midwest, we need go no further than Kiel, Wisconsin to drink in the site and fragrance of acres of lavender at Country Lavender & Orchard.

In this Deep Roots Radio chat, Sandy Buchholz describes how she and husband John tripped from farming into the cultivation of this amazing flower and herb.

Enjoy the interview, and make plans to visit this lavender farm!

Sylvia

Wisconsin loses more than a farm a day because of the high costs and low incomes to farmers. Not a new story: WI lost 10% of its farms between 2017 and 2022. Yet, there is a clear way for farmers to increase their income: agricultural tourism. And it will not cost the taxpayer a dime.

Despite this great way for farmers and rural businesses to boost income, Wisconsin legislators are sitting on bill that could help. Why?

Call your Wisconsin Senator and Representative to urge them to pass two bills:

1. One that will again enable event barns, on working farms, to rent their barns more than six (6) times a year, and
2. Another that allows Wisconsin farmers to welcome overnight visitors for Education Farm Stays.

Enjoy this Deep Roots Radio interview with more of the reasons why this works for farmers, visitors and the State of Wisconsin.

Sylvia

Sheila Everhart, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Agricultural Tourism Association points visitors to on-farm fun all across Wisconsin. She also asks the public to help remove barriers to agricultural tourism opportunities.

Hundreds of Wisconsin farmers are eager for you to visit their farms for adventures in eating, meeting animal farm babies, hiking/biking, taking classes, picking fruits and berries, and so much more. Public demand for on-farm experiences continues to grow.

This includes holding private events in on-farm barns, and enjoying Educational Farm Stays. Unfortunately, there are obstacles. And you can help remove these blockages by contacting your Wisconsin State Senator and Representative before this Legislative session ends in a few weeks. (Find your legislators here.)

• Pls urge your Senator and Representative to support Senate Bill 415 and Assembly Bill 413 so that Wisconsin farmers can offer Educational Farm Stays on their property.
• Pls go to Change.org and sign the petition to this effect. You can make a big difference.
• Also contact your Senator and Representative to move Senate Bill 850 and Assembly Bill 863 through committee and to a vote. These bills would again allow Wisconsin farmers to offer the public the opportunity to rent the space of an event venue (barn) for private, invitation-only celebration. As of January 2026, new legislation demands that a working farm must purchase a $10,000 liquor license, install expensive equipment, and operate as a bar if it wants to open its barn to more than six events a year. To be clear, for decades before this January, on-farm event venues operated legally and in compliance with all state and local regulations: These farm venues did not sell liquor in any form; the farms rented the barn space; the renter provided the alcohol (if any) to its invitation-only guests; the renter provided the required, licenses bartender.
• Register your support at https://instituteforjustice.quorum/campaign/128722/